Venezuela hotels and tours

Venezuela Country Guide

Venezuela is an alluring and richly rewarding destination to visit. The best part is that it is still relatively undiscovered and at time you may feel like you have the whole place to yourself! Lovers of nature will be right at home amongst the jungles, wetlands and turquoise seas home to caimans, capybaras, piranhas and anacondas. National parks, rolling savannah grasslands and flat-topped mountains add to the sheer scale and diversity of this fascinating country.

Venezuela is home to some of the World's most impressive sights, including the spectacular Angel Falls.

This Venezuela Country Guide below gives some background information about the country, including useful tourist and traveller information. Detailed city information can be found by going to our Venezuela Destination Guide and clicking on the city or region you would like to know more about. To see listings of cities we offer accommodation or tours in, check out our Venezuela Hotels or Venezuela Tours pages.

Venezuela Country Guide

Useful information on this page includes:

Climate/Weather

To view information about climate and weather conditions in Venezuela, go to our Venezuela weather page.


Communication

The official language of Venezuela is Spanish. English is not commonly spoken or understood in the major cities including Caracas. Learning some Spanish beforehand is highly recommended for visitors to enhance their enjoyment and pleasure of their visit. In major hotels and restaurants in urban areas and the major resorts English may be spoken. Care should be exercised when speaking English in the less pleasant neighbourhoods for fear of crime.

Fascinatingly there are numerous other indigenous dialects spoken in Venezuela especially within the Amazon region. The Venezuelan constitution recognises the right for these indigenous groups to practice their languages including the Añu, Pemón, Warao and Wayuú tribes. For those keen on learning Spanish, Venezuela offers some of the best value and top quality Spanish courses. Some of the best schools are concentrated in the university town of Merida. Students are advised to research and contacting schools before arriving in Venezuela.

Currency/Money

Venezuela's currency is the Bolivar fuerte (BsF), which replaced the old Bolivar on 1st January 2008. There are strict currency controls on this new currency. The Bolivar fuerte is not easily convertible neither inside nor outside of the country. Visitors to Venezuela are subject to a strict legal limit of $1000 USD cash that they may bring into the country. The current exchange rate can be found at OANDA.com, the currency site.

Tourists may be able to find good exchange rates with unofficial money changers found near hotels, resorts and airports. The practice of exchanging money unofficially however is illegal and subject to danger from thieves.

Withdrawing from ATMs may pose a problem because the machines may ask for the last two digits of Venezuelans' ID numbers as an added security precaution. Foreigners may therefore have problems withdrawing from ATMs in the absence of ID numbers. MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted throughout Venezuela. American Express and Diners Club are accepted at upscale restaurants, hotels and shopping centres. Merchants will always ask for ID before making a credit card transaction and a passport will suffice as ID.

Electricity

110 volts AC, 60Hz. US-style two-pin plugs are the most commonly used fittings.

Embassy Locations

To view a list of Venezuelan embassies around the world, as well as foreign embassies in Venezuela, go to EmbassyWorld.com.

General Information

Capital: Caracas. Population: 4.3 million (metropolitan area, 2008)
Area: 912,050 sq km (352,144 sq miles)
Population: 27.88 million (2008).
Timezone: GMT - 4.5.

To view the current time in Caracas, click on this link to TimeAndDate.com.


Geography

Venezuela is a country located in the tropics close to the equator in South America. The country borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east and Brazil to the south. The country is privileged to have a long coastline bordering the Caribbean Ocean to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The popular island states of Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles and Trinidad and Tobago are close by. The country itself is home to more than 600 different islands off its coastline, which have some of its best beaches.

The interior of the country is known for its sheer diversity of features. South America's second largest river the Orinoco is home to wetlands. The Amazon rainforest if located to the far south. In the centre of the country the Los Llanos plains is home to cattle ranching and stunning wildlife. The stunning Andes mountain chain is to the west of the country in the state of Merida among others.

Health

Buying bottled water is recommended and drinking tap water is strongly discouraged. The consumption of iced drinks and salads are considered fine. Be wary of dairy products that might have expired and street vendors selling food which may not conform to Western hygiene standards. It recommended that visitors use discretion when selecting what to eat on the streets. Visitors may suffer mildly from diarrhoea when adjusting to food and liquids in Venezuela.

Due to the determined work by the authorities, transmissible diseases such as dengue fever, malaria and measles are extremely unlikely to be of concern to tourists. Private hospitals and clinics in Venezuela are arguably the best in Latin America with an increasing number of tourists seeking cosmetic surgery in Venezuela. Some knowledge of Spanish may be useful if you are using the health system in the country. Note that some airlines require passengers to carry a yellow fever vaccination certificate before flying into Venezuela. Please check with your airline before.

History

The history of Venezuela is one of the most fascinating in Latin America. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in 1522, indigenous people and tribes such as the Mariches inhabited the country. These natives flourished until the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century led under the leadership of Diego de Losada, who founded the city of Caracas. Venezuela was incorporated into the new state of Nuevo Andalusia with the indigenous inhabitants systematically hunted and killed. For the next two hundred years under Spanish rule Venezuela received large numbers of migrants from Spain and from Africa, which created the diversified ethnic mix presently seen today.

Venezuela only gained independence in 1821 from Spain under Simon Bolivar, who later bitterly fought for independence for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Bolivar's legacy and the country's confrontational history still live on in the persona of its president, Hugo Chavez. With a mixture of left wing politics and self-proclaimed "Bolivarianism" Chavez has sought to use the financial boom of oil deposits to carry out social change in the country.

Language

 

Spanish is the main language of Venezuela. However, Venezuelan Spanish differs in pronunciation from the Spanish spoken in Spain. There are also some variations in vocabulary. Venezuelans call their language Castellano.

Besides Spanish, there are over 30 native Indian languages, of which several have common origins. In more remote areas, some Indians still only speak their own language and have no knowledge of Spanish.

Generally, the knowledge of foreign languages in Venezuela is very basic. Even in better hotels the receptionists don't always speak English. It is therefore useful to learn at least some common phrases before your departure to Venezuela, or to carry a phrasebook.

 

Phrases for the Traveller:         

yes                              si    
no                               no    
I don't know               no sé    
hello                           hola    
good morning             buenos días    
good afternoon           buenas tardes    
good evening              buenas noches    
good night                  buenas noches    
goodbye                     hasta luego    
please                         por favor    
thank you                   gracias    
You're welcome         de nada/a la orden


Location

Venezuela is located in South America. To view a map of Venezuela, click on this link to WorldAtlas.com.

People/Culture

The Venezuelan census does not disclose information about ethnicity but according to recent estimates some 70% of the population are Mestizo, defined as a mixture between European and Amerindians, and another 20% are unmixed whites, mostly of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and German descent. Only around 5% of the population are indigenous. The main indigenous tribes are the Wayuu and the Zulia.

Venezuelans are known across Latin America for their friendly and approachable personality. You are likely to encounter them talking about the latest happenings from the soap operas, to baseball and the large persona of their president. When being introduced to someone a handshake will suffice regardless between gender. When communicating goodbye a handshake is appropriate between men and a single kiss for girls. An unfortunately by-product of Venezuela's cultural heritage is male dominated machismo. Foreign women are strong advised not to travel alone and to ignore the constant remarks and shouts from men.

Public Holidays

Follow the link to view a list of public holidays in Venezuela during 2010.

Religion

Venezuela like much of Latin America is predominantly Catholic. A recent study showed that 92% of the population is Catholic. Catholicism was introduced into the country through Spanish colonialism and enhanced further by migration from Europe in particularly Italy. A visit to Venezuela will reveal some of the most beautiful churches in Latin America. What is particularly revealing is the sheer variety in architecture of churches for example contrast the stone church of Juan Felix Sanchez in Merida state with the colonial style of architecture of the Iglesia de San Gabriel in Coro.

Venezuela as a cultural melting pot of African and European influences can lay claim to a number of other prominent religions. Religious tolerance is institutionalised by the 1961 Constitution. Caracas and Maracaibo is home to a prominent Jewish population of several thousand. A smaller number of Indians in the Amazon area continue to practice their traditional beliefs especially among the Guajiro near the Colombian border.

Visas/Passports

Nationals of the UK, USA, Canada and other EU countries, with the exception of Latvia, do not require a visit to visit Venezuela for stays of up to 90 days. A tourist card (DEX-2) will be issued free of charge by an authorised air carrier on presentation of valid air tickets (including return or onward ticket). Tourist entry cards are valid only up to 90 days for one period of time per year. Please note that all passports are required to be valid for six months on arrival in Venezuela.

Other types of tourist visas include the tourist multiple-entry visa $32, business multiple-entry visa $65 and student visa $65. The tourist multiple-entry visa allows for multiple entries into Venezuela during a 90 day period of time. The business multiple-entry visa allows for multiple entries into Venezuela for a longer extended 180 day period. Apply for these visas at your local Venezuelan consulate at embassy. Tourists are finally reminded to keep up to date on the latest developments regarding visa information and current developments by contacting your local Venezuelan embassy.

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